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Literature · LC

Civilizational Canons

Writing carries the Way. Twelve canons, each paired with one Muzi Canon book, read literature through the ideas it carries.

12canons

12Canon books

LC1 · CB1Values & EthicsCultivating virtue and managing the home: the ethical foundation and enduring warmth of human relations in Chinese letters.Canon book · Values79 works LC2 · CB2Cosmos & NatureGazing up at the cosmos and observing all creation: the profound resonance between poetic sensibility and celestial movements.Canon book · Cosmos21 works LC3 · CB3Poetry & Lyrical SpiritFrom the springs of Shijing and Chuci to the zenith of High Tang poetry: the crowning glory of Oriental lyricism.Canon book · Literature243 works LC4 · CB4Melodies & Performing ArtsMusical harmonies attuned to ancient scales and theatrical dramas: the sonic and dramatic beauty of Chinese opera and performing arts.Canon book · Melodies54 works LC5 · CB5Crafts & Material WisdomInscribing names on masterful artifacts, probing the essence of things: craftsmanship and material aesthetics in classical prose.Canon book · Crafts20 works LC6 · CB6Culinary & GastronomyFermenting seasonings, brewing fragrant tea, and gathering around seasonal feasts: the culinary wisdom of Huaxia living.Canon book · Culinary8 works LC7 · CB7StrategiesFormlessness in supreme statecraft, deception in grand strategy: the top-level control and maneuvers of classical military arts and geopolitical dynamics.Canon book · Strategies108 works LC8 · CB8EducationBreaking aristocratic monopolies, selecting talent through merit and letters: a classical civil service selection network that sustained societal mobility for a millennium.Canon book · Education55 works LC9 · CB9SciencesCounting rods establishing algebra, seismographs remote-detecting the earth: how the classical Orient deduced the laws of nature using pure physics and physical computational hardware.Canon book · Sciences7 works LC10 · CB10ArchitecturePhysical mortise-and-tenon joints, eaves soaring atop precipices: observing how ancestors constructed architectural and spatial engineering marvels across cliffs and wilderness.Canon book · Architecture16 works LC11 · CB11InfrastructureWalls fortifying frontiers, grand canals unifying veins: utilizing the consolidated will of a grand governance to expand and structure human habitat and survival spaces.Canon book · Infrastructure12 works LC12 · CB12CommerceCaravans traversing the Silk Road, banknotes pioneering trade: tracing how ancient trans-regional merchant syndicates engineered the world's earliest commercial credit and trust networks.Canon book · Commerce11 works

Through the DynastiesFifteen dynasties across the twelve canons.